Dr Appt update and Nursery theme

We had a follow up with the high risk dr and OB today.  Things are going good and the dr said my cervix is okay, but he wants me to stay off my feet as much as possible.  I asked if I was clear to go shopping and he said no!  I guess I'll have to stick with online shopping for Christmas.  I go back in two weeks for another follow up. 

Steve will be painting the nursery this weekend.  We have the crib put together and the bedding picked out.  It's called 'Little Builder' by Eddie Bauer.  We are going with a Construction theme.  Steve loves to build so I thought this would be perfect for the nursery.  Steve will be building a dresser (out of Cherry wood) for the baby.  It won't match the crib, but it will be something that will last much longer and he will be able to use for years to come. 

(Picture of nursery from babies.r.us website)

My christmas cards have arrived from shut.terfly so I will start getting those out.  I am working with Mary at Bright Sunshine Designs for the baby shower invites (she designed my blog).  I am hoping to get those out in the next few weeks.  I am also having a shower at work and at church, all in January.  I still can't believe that it's finally going to be MY baby shower.  Every little girl dreams about her wedding day when she grows up.  Then after that, she dreams about her first baby.  I've dreamed and prayed for this for the past 8 years!!  It hasn't been an easy road, but it certainly has been the biggest faith challenging experience yet.  Every day is a blessing.

Under Pressure

I have been working from home all week and it's been really nice.  I still have the pressure in my belly and it's worst at the end of the day (from sitting in my home office all day).  I could lay down during the day, but I have so much work to do, that I just keep plugging away.  By time Steve gets home I'm pretty much out of commission.  I went to church on Sunday and by the third hour the pressure was very uncomfortable.  I left early and came home and just laid down for the rest of the evening.  I think from now on, I will most likely only attend the first hour, sacrament meeting only (yes, we have three hour church every Sunday). 

My husband has really had to take on more of the housework and he does it without complaining.  I feel guilty for not being able to do more, but I do as much as my body will let me.  There's so much that needs to be done around the house and by the time he gets home, I know he's exhausted, but he still does a little bit each night to help out.  So if you stop by my house and it looks like a hurricane came through, you'll know we've been busy with other priorities (aka making sure baby doesn't come out earlier than he needs to!)

The baby isn't very active, but every time I feel him move, it just warms my heart!  I keep praying that he stays snuggled inside for at least the next 12 weeks (I will be 36 wks by then).  I can't wait to go back on Friday to see him again and hopefully my cervix will be better by then. 

I'm thankful for friends who call or email me to check in on us.  Especially grateful for those who have offered to bring us dinner.  We are grateful for your generosity and thoughtfulness.  It means so much to us. 

Thanks to my blogging friend Saige, for sending me these books and the snot sucker for baby! She sent me The Baby Sleep Solution and The Happiest Baby on the Block.  I can't wait to read them!

24wks

(23w5d)

I usually love black friday, but I couldn't do the crack of dawn shopping this year because I knew there was no way I could get up that early and stand in line for so long.  My body just physically couldn't do it.  There weren't any deals that we just HAD to have so we opted to sleep in a bit.  I figured we could just hit up the stores when we headed to our dr appt later in the morning.  We did manage to go to babies.r.us and get a glider and the bedding for the nursery. 

Then we headed to the high risk dr for our 24 wk baby scan.  I was hoping to go to Tar.get after my appt, but the dr had other plans.  Baby is measuring just fine and weighs 1 pound 6 ounces.  My cervix on the other hand is still changing.  At my last appt a week ago, he said it was fine, but now it's changing again.  When they apply pressure to my belly, the cervix contracts a little.  Nothing major to be concerned about,  yet, but he told me to go straight home and rest.  He said I couldn't finish up my black friday shopping!  He also suggested that I continue to work from home and really limit all my physical activity.  And he said absolutely no "marital" activities until 36 weeks!  Oh my!

(23w6d)

So, we picked up Abbey and headed home.  I took it easy and 'helped' put up one of the Christmas trees.  Abbey and Steve will do the second one.  There's so  much to do around the house to get it ready for the holidays, but it will be a slow process since I can't do too much.  I'm so use to being on the go all the time, that I have to force myself to slow down.  Of course, I will do whatever it takes to ensure baby is safe and sound and keeps cooking away in the oven. 

Happy Thanksgiving

I am grateful for so many things in my life:

My wonderful and amazing husband.

Great family

 Cute nieces and nephews

Good health

Jobs

Great friends

A roof over my head

Chocolate

The gospel of Jesus Christ

Trials to strengthen me

A precious baby growing inside me!

A loving and forgiving Heavenly Father

Faith

I am amazed and deeply grateful for all my many blessings every.single.day!

We should all count our many blessings on a daily basis and name them one by one.  

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

23 wks

I will be 23 weeks tomorrow!!
(22w4d picture)

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 22w6d

Size of baby: Baby is the size of a Papaya.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: According to my scale, 6 lbs.  Thanks to the gestational diabetes, which I think has been a blessing (as much as it's a pain).  If I didn't have to really watch what I eat, I'd be as big as a whale! 

Maternity Clothes: Maternity pants/tops (but can still fit into some of my regular tops)

Gender: BOY!

Movement: Yes!  He doesn't move a whole lot, but I definitely feel him when he does.  He likes to move the most when we're driving home from work.  It's like he knows the days over!  We were driving to the dr's on Wednesday and he gave me a good kick that startled me. It made me jump and Steve couldn't stop laughing at me. 

Sleep: Getting better at sleeping on my side, but occasionally still end up on my back.
What I miss: Diet Coke, Rice, french fries, chocolate chip cookies.  Basically eating whenever and whatever I wanted.  Now it looks like I might have to start cutting the fruit intake :(

Cravings: Nothing in particular, but I just miss the foods I can't have.

Symptons: Occasional pressure in the lower abdomen.

Best Moment this week: Feeling him move more and seeing baby's face on the ultrasound (pic below)

21w4d

The rest are from 22w4d ultrasound

Here is his little face looking right at us. He looks like a little alien....my alien.

Here are his little legs. 

We go back after Thanksgiving for another scan to measure the baby.  It's always a joy to be able to see him as much as we can.  The dr said my cervix looks good and after my next appointment, he'll only have to see me every 3 weeks.  I continue to pray baby is snuggling in and keeps growing and growing!

We are going t o start registering this weekend at Babies.r.Us and Tar.get!

Cherish. Awaiting a Miracle.

I received an unexpected suprise in the mail last week.  My dear blogging friend Kim, sent me this lovely Willow Tree figurine called 'Cherish. Awaiting a Miracle.'  I was so grateful that she took the time out to think of me as she is getting ready to start an IUI cycle.  She has no idea how much her thoughtfulness means to me.  I know there are many women out there who are still praying for their miracle and I just want them to know that the Lord is aware of their desires.  Through Him, all things are made possible. Put all your faith and time into serving Him unconditionally and He will bless you. 

The journey is not easy, but it is worth it. 

A Nice Surprise

Whenever I'm out shopping or browsing at baby clothes, I always think there are way  more cute baby girl clothes than there are boys clothes.  Girls are fun to dress up!  But since I won't be buying bows and tutu's anytime soon, I've been on the look out for cute boy stuff.  I was in Gymboree a few weeks ago looking for a fall dress for Abbey and I came across some baby boy things that were on clearance!  Of course I just had to get them.  

The boots are my absolute favorite!

I love the hat too, since I can't buy bows, I'm on the look out for cute hats.

 Steve made the monkey for baby when we were in Williamsburg.

Did I mention that I have the best husband in the world?  A few weeks ago I had to go out and run errands, but first I had to put Abbey and Steve down for a nap (you know how grouchy kids and husbands can get when they're tired). 

When I came home about 4 hours later, Abbey was very excited to show the 'surprise' that she and Steve had for me.  Instead of napping, they were busy working on my surprise.  I closed my eyes as they led me upstairs to the baby's future room. 

To my suprise, instead of napping, they spent the whole afternoon cleaning out all the junk stuff we had dumped stored in the spare room.  I was so happy and overwhelmed with love.  I know it was a lot of work for them (mostly Steve).  He basically moved everything out of the room into the basement. 

And this was all that was left in the room.

The doggie blanket was from my awesome neighbor who is always so thoughtful. There's also a little green book of Abbey's that she wanted to give the baby.

We literally have a clean state now to start the nursery!  I was really starting to stress about having to clean up that room (aka my 'closet' as Abbey called it).

I didn't get a picture of the room before, but I was able to get a picture of all the junk stuff that occupied the room.  It's quite embarrassing!!!

 The furniture that occupied the room, a bookcase and the dresser Steve made for me when we first got married.  I am not looking forward to going through all this stuff, but I know it has to be done...eventually. 

I am grateful for a thoughtful husband and niece who loves me enough to work so hard so I wouldn't have to stress too much.  I love them so much and count my blessings every day to have them in my life!